The truth about a complex built for veterans and the middle class and how it has evolved through the years to become one of the more interesting and controversial of New York stories.

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Management has two priorities: 1) Making sure money is made, hence upgrading and filling up apartments is their goal. "Amenities" are important in selling the place, though few residents use them. 2) If someone needs medical attention, Public Safety will be there, if alerted.

Quality of life issues are not that important, however. Things like the carpet rule or outsider dogs. These "rules" tend to be ignored, on purpose it seems. So you will see a lot that isn't taken care of properly, and complaints will be met with a creative excuse and a smile.

"Peace and quiet" must be a cruel joke, though this property is sold that way. There can be no peace and quiet as ALL apartments must be upgraded, which includes the installation of an AC unit below the window. Aside from the continual construction about the neighborhood, there is a new and noisy subway extension being built along East 14 st and the shut down of the L line. "Choosing" to live in NYC, now the newest mantra, is a fabrication when the talk is of ST and PCV, which was traditionally quiet, with no construction noise.

Though money was always important, it is now more important than ever. Money rules many things, as you will find.

At this point, 30 years into living here and seeing many things, I can state that Management and their reps are BS-ing us. I can't say that loudly enough: We are being BS-ed. I don't see any genuine change, though the "selling" of this place is intense. Few of the "rules" will be enforced, as Management doesn't want to lose customers or potential customers. Where personal integrity is a hallmark of an excellent management style, this integrity is not seen in enforcing some of the rules.

About those "club cars" we see going this way and that way, and outside of Stuy Town or Peter Cooper Village:

Monday, July 10, 2017

A New Phase

I've noticed that the TA Facebook, which is usually different than the TA itself, has voices that are not pleased with the way this property is run and the general inactivity of the TA. I applaud these voices And, yes, I am aware that these voices can get a "personal" message from a "Peter Stuyvesant" to basically behave, whatever that can mean.

What these voices and the many comments I receive on this blog tell is that certain residents are dissatisfied, even pissed, at the way this property is run.

I do not fault Blackstone for buying and running this property. I do fault them for not making sure that several quality of life problems are followed. It seems that Blackstone has a priority where the selling of rooms (and the more rooms, the merrier) is its top priority, but that certain "quality of life" issues are not that important, and can even be ignored. Even the attention paid on the greenery and the constant landscaping has its selling motive, as does the "new" playground. All of us can see the problems of this complex. There is no need to bullshit us, but generally these activities are meant for prospective buyers rather than those who already have signed on the dotted line. And meant for some who have signed (not all students, as can be the current meme) who are satisfied to have their expenses somehow justified.

Now let me state that I want the same things that Blackstone can want if we are talking about quality of life issues:

Case in point is the lanyard rule: I chose this one because its lack of enforcement is so obvious after TWO posts from General Manager Rick Hayduk. The messages, a year apart, say the same thing. Basically, if you don't have a lanyard and you are a legal resident, you will be shown where to get one; and if you are not a resident, you will be escorted off the property with your dog or dogs. I will not debate or argue whether 8,000 lanyard stops have been made in a year. A LOL will suffice as my answer.

Some people are afraid, and some have lost faith. And some don't care. And, yes, there are some residents who can go the opposite way, and want less rules and more "we can do what we want." We should also understand that most people do not want to get involved. Management is banking on this.

If you are senior, this is your chance, however. A senior vs Blackstone is very bad publicity. Yet if you are a senior, you must follow certain things....

Unless you have a hidden property in the Hamptons, unless you do criminal activity, you will be okay. Do not be bullied into thinking that you have no rights and that you have to be thankful of having a place over your head.

Also don't be bulled into thinking that you are alone. Yes, you can see many residents with oversized dogs, no lanyard stops, residents eating right next to a dog urinating or defecting, with no apparent concern. You will see residents willfully ignoring "the rules" and laughing in the process. Other residents can join in. Even worse, you will see Public Safety and Management not care too much about certain rules.

Please remember that you are not alone. Others feel the same way that you do. But it doesn't help the residents who care to be angry about the infractions to the point of fury.

For a while, I stepped "out of the shadows" to experience more of what the people representing property have to say. I've spoken to most of the "big boys" around here (and, yes, most of them are male), and they can know my identity if it's that important to them.

There is a saying, "Don't get mad, get even." I don't particularly like the "get even" part, because it sounds like payback, but I do like the gist of the message: which is not to let this place negatively affect you, but rather to do what you can to make sure certain rules are followed. Rules, incidentally, that Blackstone champions on its website and/or rules that are dictated by the city. Acknowledged that the city can be another major obstacle. Again, Management is banking on this, and you walking away.

So what do we do?

Keep a note of the infractions, the official response given, etc.

Know to that this phase will not be easy. (And I say this to myself, too.)

We have examples of residents who have won. Incidentally without the TA or our councilman.

Though she may wish to be "in the shadows," Caryn Chow won a legal battle against Management (CW Capital at the time) when she was able to prove that this complex was not providing the quiet, proclaimed by Management, that she needed to do her daily work.

Siddharth Dube also won a legal battle by suing the dog owner that put his dog's life in jeopardy. Both Chow and Dube won, though we can debate the monetary awards that were given. You can win, too, but only if your reasoning is documented, as are the responses.

In reviewing the above post, I came across the following on the TA Facebook, kinda hidden away but pertinent. From ex-resident, Siddharth Dube:

I don't know the current Management's take on these things, but it is very possible, that they are not sweating too much as long as the bottom line of selling rooms looks good. The individual lawsuits will go away, they reason, and they can keep on selling rooms to prospective tenants. And the selling of rooms is what they are most interested in.

My advice is to read and check what your lease says, to read the rights that you as a tenant have, and to try to "deal" with these infractions in a non-confrontational and possibly cheerful manner. The angrier you get, the more weaponry they have against you. If you do the opposite, it will get them...angry.

248 comments:

Blackstone has a rep on Wall Street as an egregious bloodsucker interested in bottom line, bottom line, bottom line ONLY. Buy cheap, buy cheap and plunder.They will rape this property in an effort to squeeze every last penny.Dormification? If they could squeeze 20 students per apartment and get away with it they would.If they could chop up the apartments into small cubicles they would.What's next? Oval Brothel.Churn, baby, churn!The impotent, almost laughable TA can do nothing.Bikini Babe Susan Steinberg is only concerned with the hot honeys sunning themselves on the OvalNow that's one amenity I like!Property Honcho Rick the Dick is only a PR shill.He'll "yes" everyone to death with such a concerned look. And then ignore.Dog sh*t everywhere. Lanyards and canine registration? Carpet rule enforced? Pot smoke throughout. Garbage in the halls.This place which was once so tranquil and peaceful is finished.So very sad.

Having seen a bit of what's going to happen with the new subway entrance whose work is just beginning on Ave A and, I guess, a part of Ave B, I sympathize with the folks who live close to it and will be hearing another major construction project going on, the first being actually two, the condos being built along East 14th Street. Now if it was me, I would be making a list of the noise and ultimately sending it off to Management, which SHOULD give some rebate on one's rent, unless one is out of the apartment when the work is being done. This is a perfect opportunity for the TA to step in and gather this information, of course. And for the councilman of this district to say something definitive and not BS evasive.

It is an odd place. They offer large sums of money to new tenants coming in to rent, but nothing to those of us who are renewing and i mean nothing. Our rent is not a lower one but we are a+ tenants and the increase is too high. We will be leaving end of summer.

8:33 PM, they only want to churn. They don't want people to renew their leases, even though the rent will increase. They just want to churn and pack in as many people per unit as they can. They want the real RS tenants to die and if they can make them as miserable as possible to expedite their demise, they will do so. Most of the older residents I know say they'll see Blackstone in hell before Blackstone sees them in the casket! The elderly have suffered through much worse in life than dealing with this bunch of blackhearted bloodsuckers, but they've also seen much better days in this (now) dump and have accepted that a lot of things in life change for the worse. They've had worse adversity to deal with than this schmuck landlord, so aren't even all that fazed. They also are not scared of BS because they know how to give as good as they get when it comes to their rights being trodden on!

It is the MR tenants who really suffer because they pay through the nose for conditions they wouldn't have to deal with anywhere else for the money they are paying. The so-called amenities are a cruel joke because they are anything BUT amenities and the MR tenants know that. They are gimmicks to pull in the twenty-somethings and students who will cram into the cut-up apartments and deal with it for a couple of years or less and then will be gone to get on with their lives.

Well said 11:12. I agree with you that it is MR tenants who are really getting the shaft. Many of them probably stay a year or two and are then priced out to be replaced by students or transients. The so-called amenities are a joke. This place is such a dump, I really do not think that Blackstone knows who they are renting to anymore or do they care.

Now I have seen everything in this dump. I just looked out my window and saw a public safety officer petting and posing for a photo with a clearly oversized wolf-like dog. The owner was on the bench and I couldn't tell if the dog had a ST leash on. This place is for the dogs.

Hello. I'm a regular daily reader of this blog. Not a troll. Just a regular citizen. Chiming in to say I have been stopped 2x in the last month for a friendly lanyard check, once by a public safety officer, once by Rick himself. Also 2x at Dog Days. The lanyard check is not confrontational and is not like the old 'get off the grass or we'll call your mother". It's more of a gentle reminder, "have you gotten your lanyard yet?" PS Yes I have one thank you. Please no putdowns. Have a good one, STR.

Not one landlord has been convicted of harassment in 20 years. Not a single landlord has been held accountable for crimes in 20 years. It is unlikely that Chowers woman took the landlord to court. More likely the landlord took her to court and she may have gotten a small bit of relief but there is no way any tenant got any victory in any court when it comes to harassment of any kind, construction, noise, or whatever. Tens of thousand of tenants have lost in the courts and not one landlord has ever lost anything. Taking a landlord to court is a losing battle going on 20 years. No matter what a landlord did to a tenant, in 20 years not one landlord has ever lost in the courts. Landlords take advantage of this and do horrible things to tenants because landlords know the courts are firmly biased in favor of landlords for 20 years. It is a disgrace and it is beyond the point of landlord harassment being handled in civil courts or housing courts or landlord tenant courts. Landlord harassment belongs in criminal courts. Harassment is a crime. It should not be the burden of a tenant to fight against criminal acts in civil courts who do not have the tools to stop the landlord crimes and criminals, especially when the landlords are no longer individuals but rather they are corporations.

I agree that MR tenants are the ones who are getting it the worst in this place. It's pretty much a bait-and-switch, which promises this great quiet oasis, then once you sign that $4000-$6000 lease the reality slowly sets in.

By the way, this bait-and-switch process is illegal in NY real estate and if you feel like you've been a victim of it, you do have avenues to seek remedies to your problems.

>>Hello. I'm a regular daily reader of this blog. Not a troll. Just a regular citizen. Chiming in to say I have been stopped 2x in the last month for a friendly lanyard check, once by a public safety officer, once by Rick himself. Also 2x at Dog Days. The lanyard check is not confrontational and is not like the old 'get off the grass or we'll call your mother". It's more of a gentle reminder, "have you gotten your lanyard yet?" PS Yes I have one thank you. Please no putdowns. Have a good one, STR.<<

I don't discount your experience, but this mine: I spend a lot of time at the Oval and not once have I seen a lanyard check. Not once. Others have not seen it, too.

You say you've been stopped, yet it seems for one who has a lanyard, you've been stopped a lot, and one time is too many.

I didn't read this part well enough to make it sink in. You are telling me that you have a lanyard, which is very visible and light blue, but you were stopped once by Rick and the other time by PS??? Something is wrong here.

I am 6:53, the lanyard gal who was asked 2x if I had a lanyard. Both times I was checked in Peter Cooper Village. My lanyard was blocked by a poop bag and stuff I was holding. Just correlating my experience to the claim of 8000 lanyard check. Do the math. It adds up.

I am the complete opposite of the lanyard person. I walk through the oval 3x every day with my dog, including past the security office, and I have never been stopped.

My thinking is this... if they see the lanyard, do they really need to stop you? It's obvious you have one. There are plenty of times where I can see the lanyard clearly, so I don't really think a stop is necessary in that case. However, for every lanyard I see, I still see 2-3 without one.

If security can not see a lanyard, a stop should be made in every case, but it seems like they are stopping people with lanyards that will be non-confrontational and ignoring the non-lanyard dogs where the owner looks confrontational. This way they can say they made some stops.

I also have photos from Peter Cooper Village. And I've also seen outsiders come in freely and have their dogs piss and dedicate on PCVST property. No PS guard is stopping them. In fact, we have a valid report that the large guard booth over at PCV has been told to ignore outsiders.

I've been stopped. It was nothing. They were polite. My leash is blue so maybe they can't see the lanyard. I think it's interesting the commenters here scream PS is not stopping dog owners and then call people who have been stopped liars. Go enjoy the outdoors. Sunlight is cleansing.

I agree with 9:43. They pick and choose who they want to stop based on whether they think the owner will be confrontational. Maybe I don't get stopped because I'm a cop and ex-military and I have the look that I might be confrontational, but I am far from it. I want to be stopped, or just see one non-lanyard dog get stopped, which would tell me that they are trying.

Trying is very different from 8000 stops, and they are far from even trying at this point.

From past STR blog why the TA is not pursuing quality of life matters and why tenants are left to their own devices. For what services did the TA pay Steve Sanders Malkin Ross? What are the TA goals and objectives? Certainly not quality of life which has deteriorated. What did they pay for? What did they get in return? You are on your own in any battles on quality and life. You are up against your own TA and their lobbyists, law firms, politicians all who want to kick you out and develop the property. Recall that in 2015 these meetings occurred:March 30 Developer Dalian Wanda meets with NYS GovernorMar 30 Mayor of New York meets with Dalian Wanda as arranged by Capalino & CoJul 30,2015 Dalian Wanda meets with Blackstone Group SAME DAYJuly 30, 2015 Dalian Wanda meets with Stuyvesant Town Peter Cooper Village Tenant Association Partner BrookfieldWang Jianlin meets with Goldman Sachs Chairman Aug 03

The TA partner Brookfield met with the Peter Cooper Village developer on the same day they met with Blackstone, in July 2015.

That is why the TA is paying lobbyists and why the TA is not helping tenants with quality of life matters.

From the STR blog comment section in 2015 while the TA partner Brookfield and Blackstone are meeting with the developers and BEFORE the mayor told the tenants that the "new" owner is Blackstone:

Same day January 2015 two staffers from the NY Attorney General's office change jobs - going to Malkin Ross and Berlin Rosen

The DN’s Ken Lovett reported this morning that Andrew Friedman, who has served as Schneiderman’s deputy communications director for less than two years, is departing to take a job at the influential political consulting firm BerlinRosen. Friedman started his new job today at the New York City-based firm, which has strong ties to Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio.

Shortly after noon, the Albany-based lobbying and law firm Malkin & Ross announced that another Schneiderman staffer, Justin Berhaupt, has jumped ship to join its ranks. Berhaupt, an Albany Law School grad and Delmar resident, had served as the AG’s legislative advisor.

I am 6:53. I walk my dog 4x/day in the Oval ---never been stopped there but have seen them occasionally giving me the visual look for my lanyard, especially during greenmarket. Are there others reading this blog who can share if they have undergone a lanyard check/stop?

STR the article says the landlord took her to court and not the other way around. Are you sure a tenant can take a landlord to court? We may be setting ourselves up for failure if StuyPCV tenants take them to court and that would make Blackstone very happy.

This is how the TA should have been handling noise, construction, and all other things that effect our quality of life. The TA has completely failed at keeping Stuy Town habitable, and now it is in the hands of tenants to return the property to habitable conditions. The TA always claims they use fees for legal representation (and not for lobbyists and former TA board members pockets), so where are these cases filed?

This is a blog that guarantees anonymity, so anyone can write anything, unless I deep-six it for obvious reasons. Which is why I say to trust the message via your own experience.

Again, my experience has been that I have yet to see a lanyard stop, and I'm at the Oval a lot. I would go farther and say that PS is untruthful if they say that those dog owners without a blue lanyard are always stopped. They are NOT. Now, could there be times when a check is made? Sure. But generally, and I mean general in the sense of most of the time, no one is checking. We, the residents, know this. To say otherwise is bizarre.

>>STR the article says the landlord took her to court and not the other way around. Are you sure a tenant can take a landlord to court? We may be setting ourselves up for failure if StuyPCV tenants take them to court and that would make Blackstone very happy.<<

"But for one resident, the daily jackhammering and other noise that would start as early as 7:30 a.m. as well as the debris that would fly into her windows was so unbearable that she started withholding rent.

Naturally, she ended up getting taken to court, where a judge decided that she was in fact entitled to a partial abatement."

Yes, she withheld rent, was taken to court, and then won a partial abatement. She won, but technically she was the one charged and then she responded.

The lady who states she has a lanyard but CLAIMS she was stopped twice by PS is clearly a troll or shill for Management.Why would PS stop someone who has a lanyard when scores do not?Counter intuitive at best, probably a lie at worstWhat a phony!Nice try, Rick.

A tenant should not have to withhold rent just to get in front of a Judge especially when withholding rent results in a blackmark against tenants that follows them where they move to. As far as exercising a right to take the landlord to court, at least going back as 20 years, has never resulted in the landlord being held accountable. There is nowhere for tenants to exercise their rights and protections, by design of real estate industry, the politicians they control, and the big landlords. This is a really big problem. The landlord can do whatever they want to you, screw up your home, your health, your work, your life and the courts have never convicted any of them. It is costly on many levels, financially, health, time, and always the landlords are unscathed and unaccountable for their actions.

July 12, 2017 at 9:57 AMI've been stopped. It was nothing. They were polite. My leash is blue so maybe they can't see the lanyard. I think it's interesting the commenters here scream PS is not stopping dog owners and then call people who have been stopped liars. Go enjoy the outdoors. Sunlight is cleansing. -----Nobody called you a liar.

You were stopped twice. You saw PS visually and physically checking for lanyards. Other comment posters don't share your experience. They were never stopped. They never saw anyone else stopped. Their casual observance indicates most dogs are not registered and effective lanyard enforcement isn't taking place.

Just now, biker speeding through the property, not a delivery person, a resident or traveler and PS man in uniform walking same route. She almost hit him too, he said nothing. A real joke this place is.

8:21If you are 10:50, you also then say you are 6:53. In the 6:53 post you say you have been stopped twice. Then in the 10:50 post you say you haven't been stopped. Something isn't adding up, and I am just going to chalk it up to the fact that you are trying to defend something that we all know doesn't happen, and you can't even get your story straight.

Did you notice that somebody (I think a long-time tenant) complaining on the TA page about noise and management was told "You should move" by some poster who is probably paying a fortune to live here. The MR suckers are very fond of telling those who know how the place could and should be run to move if they don't like it. Must really bite to be paying a shitload of money to live in a place that has older people living here who pay less than half what you do and have the temerity to actually notice and speak out about the deficiencies of the current so-called "Management." Sad. ;-)

One of my concerns has to do with a comment on the TA Facebook from a person that is apparently related to a property manager, though no one can suspect as the commentator has a different last name. While this is more complete info than we have previously known, I am lost right now on that Facebook page, and the person may have deleted this comment. I also tried to verify the info, but it was late and I quit after a brief try. Technically, if it is about the property and not a personal attack, the person has every right to challenge someone else on it.

"One of my concerns has to do with a comment on the TA Facebook from a person that is apparently related to a property manager, though no one can suspect as the commentator has a different last name. "

STR, was this the comment telling the lady who was complaining that she should move?

"The one poster that told another one to MOVE OUT is related to a property manager." -----P.R. Lobbyist trolls frequently post similar disparaging, insulting comments here since STR inception. Specific ID isn't necessary when consistent themes, tone and content sufficiently expose trolls and their motivations.

In response to numerous PCVST resident requests during personal surveys he takes asking how he could improve their QOL, Garodnick flexed political muscle pushing NYC to pave service roads for them.REALLY?We should believe paving service roads was at the top of the list when smiling Councilman Dan personally surveyed PCVST residents asking how he could improve their QOL? Sure, if you believe lying Councilman Dan telling us Brookfield or Blackstone successfully pushing the middle class out of PCVST was the best possible outcome for middle class PCVST residents surviving Speyer's failure to push them out of PCVST.

Overhear inn our pcv elevator wednesday - two students, with NYU dental shirts - wow, this place is great, they are letting 4 of us rent a one bedroom that they gutted and made it a 2. I'm taking the sofa bed living room.

"Overhear inn our pcv elevator wednesday - two students, with NYU dental shirts - wow, this place is great, they are letting 4 of us rent a one bedroom that they gutted and made it a 2. I'm taking the sofa bed living room."

A definite contravention of NYC housing laws. Who do they pay-off to be able to get away with this.

We don't have sprinklers here. A fire would make this place an absolute death trap. The original doors were made fireproof, but god knows what crap materials they use for the "gut-renovated" apartments. Probably all kinds of inflammable materials and chemicals go into their manufacture. Blackstone wouldn't care if there was a major fire here, resulting in multiple deaths and injuries and loss of people's homes and personal property. They would make contrite noises and then hit up their insurance company, pay a few dollars in compensation (when forced) and continue their merry money-grabbing way. In fact, they would probably love for buildings to be burnt down so that they could rebuild 40-story glass monstrosities.

My take is that I don't think Blackstone is that evil to want people to die. I think they (Blackstone) are ordinary people who have a priority, which is selling this place. But that priority is different than my own or the residents who live here. Our priority is to make sure everything is working well, even according to what it says online or in one's lease by Blackstone.

These guys run hotels... they want the fastest turn around possible. Lived here for 30 years? Who cares have your trap plate repaired for 3 weeks in and out random people. Drilling and hammering all day before 9am to make more room for "hotel 1 lease NYU kids".

They'll see when they can't rent for long term how horrible it'll be. Cleaning the face of the property while ignoring the streaks of pi$$ and $hit around flag poles is about as disrespectful as you can get.

With the overcrowding and squeezing in of so many people in apartments meant for such smaller family units, eventually something will give. I just hope it won't be catastrophic such as structural collapse in an apartment (which would no doubt affect adjacent apartments), a flood or fire.

I don't think you can even get renter's insurance for living in this dump at this point.

As I said, the bottom line with Blackstone is the bottom line. The selling of property. That is why that doctor "express" that they are building next to Lenzi's (talk about noise!) is heaven sent to them. Watch: Blackstone will promote this as good for the community. Same thing with that Playground that is going to have an outdoor gym. Would you rather run that little area or around the Oval (if the dogs won't get you)?

Blackstone would love everything to be according to the rules, but they are not willing to enforce those rules, which means that a number of residents will ignore them. I also see the razing of these buildings. Not yet, but eventually. When that happens, Blackstone will say that residents demand it. It will be all for residents, but in reality it will be to make the bottom line better and promote this place to outsiders.

This property is a sort of microcosm of the City. It is overcrowded and underserved. The infrastructure is crumbling here, just as it is all over the City. Unfortunately, the developers have all the power and the people have none. There is not a politician in New York who will not drop to his/her knees or drop his/her pants and bend over for any developer that comes down the pike. Just so long as the payment (in whatever form) is right. DeBlasio and Goralnick are two of the most egregious of them all.

Eventually, they will be held responsible when something terrible happens, but by then it will be too late.

Seen: One of those golf cars. 3 people on it. Caught them from around Lenzi's. Backing up. That's right, backing up on the sidewalk with 3 people inside. What were they doing? Laughing. Which usually happens when there is more than one inside. Should have had my camera, but didn't.

I work for an elevator union, and I can tell you that an elevator incident will be the first catastrophe to strike this property, and that will be sooner rather than later.

Most buildings in NYC are either walk-ups or high rises that have a freight elevator. PCVST does not have the luxury of having freight elevators, and these elevators are not remotely equipped to handle the quantity of move-ins and move-outs that are wearing these elevators down at a rate that scares the hell out of me.

Elevators also need periods of non-use, but with the large influx of students the elevators have very little downtime.

All I can say is that I'm glad I live on one, and I pray that Otis is doing thorough inspections of every elevator, and that Blackstone won't look past the fact that these elevators are a disaster waiting to happen.

I wouldn't be surprised if the DOB is bribed up to the hilt by Blackstone, but I find it hard to believe that the FDNY would be. I really think that the situation of having so many people crammed into these partitioned apartments should be looked into very closely by the FDNY and the Department of Health.

5:17 PM, you are quite right. There is a disaster waiting to happen with these elevators. The elevator with the permanent padding has been out of service several times due to overloading. Both elevators in my building shudder and frequently go out of service. Blackstone does not give a flying fuck for human life and limb. Blackstone has a heart of stone and no respect whatsoever for human life. They care only about money and nothing else but money. They think they can take it with them when they go.

The TA is really no better because they don't stand up to them and Garodnick is even worse because he must know about the illegal and dangerous conditions that Blackstone creates, but money and ambition wipe out his conscience.

When the inevitable catastrophe happens we will have to make sure that the PR asswipes and the TA don't obfuscate the truth.

I do not think that the true nature of Blackstone and their behavior is understood and accepted here.

I've been here 38 years. It was not paradise, but it was clean, uncrowded and offered unvarying locations of peace and quiet. Grass pristine and untouched by human feet, human-produced garbage. No commercial enterprises of any kind within the complexes. Excellent shopping on 14th Street and on 1st Avenue, including a shoe store known around the world.

Blackstone, Jonathan D. Gray, Stephen A. Schwarzman (two of the billionaire principals of Blackstone) are literal killers. You can use guns, bombs, machetes and the like to kill people - quickly. You can slowly poison them, impoverish them, wreck their nervous systems, their circulatory systems, their immune systems over a period of time such that they become critically ill, disoriented, unable to tend to family or hold down jobs. You can drive them crazy as you deprive them of necessary sleep and rest. Homelessness, terminal diseases, impaired thinking, vulnerability to depression, violence . . . THIS is what these bastards produce.

You are fooling yourselves if you believe that it is solely about "the money." That is surely a major consideration. But it is not the only one. It is a form of malevolent narcissism and worse. It is daily joy in what they believe is their proof of their ability to control and destroy other human beings and other life forms (trees, the birds who make their homes in the trees, and much/many more).

Some of those who work "for" them are ignorant as all hell. Some believe that they are truly part of some glorious organization. Some aspire to the same power to murder people and other life which is deliberately daily exercised by Gray and Schwarzman. Most are just "doing their jobs" and don't want to know how they are participating in destroying the lives of all manner of creatures by working for these monsters. Mainly, most people will put up with anything and DO anything to keep their jobs.

Most people tell themselves outright lies so that they can live with the destruction they are inflicting upon others in order to "make a living."

I am living with what is surely a deliberate effort to harass me and others out of our homes. And if I, and my family, and my neighbors die in the process (fire, flood, elevator collapse, black mold, humans pushed to the brink who riot, and dozens of other ways of dying), well . . . this is yet more proof of what powerful, magnificent superhuman beings the overlords are.

Wake up. There have been predatory, sick humans like this since we fell out of the trees two million years ago. They have their followers, their sychophants.

I think I have met all the big boys running this complex, except that ex-Special Forces guy who must be embarrassed by this complex, even if he keeps to the party line. Maybe all of them are embarrassed. I certainly would be.

Not to say, a person cannot find this and that to like here, but some of the rules are NOT being followed, and there doesn't seem to be any willingness to enforce them. Prove me wrong. I'd be delighted to report otherwise.

I didn't mention this, but I should, as it is somewhat pertinent to our discussion. A few days ago, I was at the PS office on some "nice" business, and I overheard one of the officers have a conversation with a prospective tenant, a young female. She was concerned about the neighborhood and its closeness to Ave C. The officer (whom we know) replied, somewhat embarrassingly, that the neighborhood was safe and that she should check with the 13th Precinct. Of course, no mention was made of the potential rape and murder that occurred at one of our buildings, nor of other "incidents."

College "bros" coming home 4:00AM, screaming, shrieking, yelling...hey. kiddies, this isn't a college dorm. GROW UP!The piece de resistance...a puddle of vomit in the elevator this morning!Way to go, Rick the Dick!Those House Rules sure are being enforced.Prospective tenants certainly are being vetted.Our overseers, Blacksoul, are indeed without soul.MONEY, MONEY, MONEY.Nonetheless, I AIN'T LEAVIN'

Funny being an ex-elevator man myself, I prefer to walk too! Nevertheless we all can't live on main. Move-ins & Outs, it's the same IKEA crap you find out on the loops come after the 1 year move-outs. The younger generation cries about the environment and churns more garbage than any generation ever. BTW I can't wait for the new playground 7 obstacle to open, I'm undecided between a heart attack or a torn rotator cuff

I remember when I moved into this community in 1999. I made two mistakes that I had never made again once I was edified. The first was laying out one day on one of the benches on the grounds. A stytown security guard was on my case within minutes informing me that that wasn't permitted. The other was when I stepped on the oval grass to take a shortcut across the oval, same result. I say this because yesterday while walking to my car I saw a man sitting at the oval cafe with his dog ON THE TABLE. There were several people on the other side of the piss wall petting the dog. To make matters more pathetic was the fact that a security guard on a scooter drove right past him and said nothing.

I write this because it got me thinking about how far this place has fallen. I realize this is not news to the other long term tenants here. It was just on my mind was all.

A dog on the table at Oval Cafe? You should have taken a photo and sent it to the Department of Health. And may put it online. That is disgusting! I will never eat at that place even if they give the food away for free!

Regarding the PS guy telling the prospective victim that the place was safe, maybe we need to revisit the attempted rape and murder and put them out on social media from time to time and make sure they will never be forgotten.

If you see a dog on the table say something to the owner and see the crude, rude response you'll get. These dog owners are insane with their little pets. that being said, I wouldn't sit at tone of these tables if you paid me and definitely wouldn't eat anything prepared inside.

The health Dept.definitely has to know about the dogs. Send them pictures and e-mails to inspect again.

How come MerLife ran it like a well-oiled machine with one resident manager and a skilled, unionized staff of electricians, plumbers, painters and handymen? Then they also had skilled groundskeepers. Now, we have day labor garbage to do everything.

There is a conscious effort by Blackstone to turn this place into a giant dorm and transient hotel.Churn, baby, churn!Fu*k the RS tenants.The stupid "amenities" are simply a bait-and-switch to lure the suckers in.Any fool who is willing to pay nearly four grand for a one-bedroom apartment because of Movies on the Oval or that stupid workout area being built in Playground 7 deserves what he gets.Don't blame Rick the Dick.He is simply a hapless shill.

Rick Hayduk is doing just what management wants him to do which is run this place into the ground. He is the perfect property manager for them. Any property manager here has to tow the line for Blackstone. He is told to what to do. He has little say in the renting policies which are destroying the QOL here.

I am seeing a greater presence by PS officers. That's presence. I still do not see the lanyard enforcement as promised (twice), but the presence is there. At least for now. Maybe this is the first step.

Not encouraged by your noting of more PS officers. I have not seen them at night and obviously if they do not enforce rules, what is the difference. The main problem here is the apartment churning and that is not changing. Sorry to be pessimistic but I think that your optimism is unfounded. Saturday was one of the worst spectacles of a flophouse. Numerous moving trucks, mattresses strewn about (both dirty and new) and a guy entering my elevator with just bedding. Frankly I do not care about the number of PS officers. It is irrelevant.

The HR director at my company gave me a ring because she knows I live in Pig Sty Town and she had a resume from someone at SPS looking for a job and she wanted to know what I thought. One of our divisions does property management for a number of buildings we own and some third party management. Instead of offering my opinion I just laughed and told her to file the resume in the circular file a.k.a. the garbage can in her office. She did and we (the company) are the better for it.

This message is for STR. I'm an experienced fast recreational cyclist and rarely ride my bike through the Oval but this afternoon I did ride my bike through the Oval slowly and guess who I passed who was looking straight at me not more than 5 feet away? Wait for it......Yes, Rick Hayduk. Guess what he said to me? Wait for it....NOTHING!

Don't be too surprised. Whatever he has told you is mostly lip service regarding enforcing any rules here. It's called the path of least resistance. Don't rock the boat unless he has to.

I've been here 38 years so I have some history with how Metlife ran things. I also used to work for Metlife. Since I spend little time at the Oval I'm not really affected by what happens here except as it relates to noisy neighbors which I've developed my own solutions to combatting over the years quite effectively I might add.

1:22I feel bad for that person, but that's an unfortunate reality in the job market. Sometimes the poor reputation of an employer can cause a person to get bounced from consideration, as was the case here.

STR- I LIVE IN PCV & YES, THERE ARE DEFINITELY MORE PS AROUND. A NEIGHBOR TOLD ME THEY ARE AROUND TO MONITOR THE PACKAGES BEING " DUMPED" IN THE LOBBIES. NOT SURE ABOUT THE NIGHT PRESENCE BUT DAYTIME - VERY VISIBLE. ALSO, WE ARE FINALLY GETTING NEW ELEVATOR FLOORS. STILL UGLY, BLACK , RUBBER TILES BUT CLEAN . NOW THEY NEED NEW ELEVATOR INTERIORS. NOT EXPECTING THAT BUT IT WOULD BE NICE. LANDSCAPING IS IMPROVED GREATLY. YES, NOW WE STILL NEED THE DOG RULES TO BE FOLLOWED . NO SENSE HAVING RULES IF THEY ARE NOT ENFORCED.

STR- I LIVE IN PCV & YES, THERE ARE DEFINITELY MORE PS AROUND. A NEIGHBOR TOLD ME THEY ARE AROUND TO MONITOR THE PACKAGES BEING " DUMPED" IN THE LOBBIES. NOT SURE ABOUT THE NIGHT PRESENCE BUT DAYTIME - VERY VISIBLE. ALSO, WE ARE FINALLY GETTING NEW ELEVATOR FLOORS. STILL UGLY, BLACK , RUBBER TILES BUT CLEAN . NOW THEY NEED NEW ELEVATOR INTERIORS. NOT EXPECTING THAT BUT IT WOULD BE NICE. LANDSCAPING IS IMPROVED GREATLY. YES, NOW WE STILL NEED THE DOG RULES TO BE FOLLOWED . NO SENSE HAVING RULES IF THEY ARE NOT ENFORCED.

What enrages me more than anything else are the SLOBS who put their garbage by the carriage room door and leave it there.They are too fu*kin' lazy to get the key, open the door and dispose of it properly.This ain't the projects.As much as I loathe Blacksoul and Rick the Dick for what they have done to destroy this place, this is tenant behavior.Grow up, kiddies.This ain't mommy's house or the college dorm.Step up and act like an adult.Now that I've vented I'm going to go out for my morning walk and step in some dog sh*t by the Oval...lol...NOT.

If Property Services has not provided Tenants on the Oval with noise meters to measure the decibel level of the concerts, then run to the store and get it for yourself to see what Property Services are trying to hide.

>>If Property Services has not provided Tenants on the Oval with noise meters to measure the decibel level of the concerts, then run to the store and get it for yourself to see what Property Services are trying to hide<<

I don't feel sorry for Rick, STR. I think he is derelict in his duties by not enforcing the rules. He should have approached BIGMO and told him to get of his bike and walk it; he should care about dog shit everywhere, especially around the Oval Cafe; he should care about the illegal airbnb crowd; he should care about the party-hearty students and the noise and vomit and pissing in the stairwells. If he doesn't then he is not a Property Manager. He may have that title and salary, but he sure as hell is not "managing," except that he's managing to get away with not doing his job and managing to let all the scoff-laws get away with their shit.

Two btw-s. One I was just at our local post office. Only one line and the AC is not working. Of course, I left. Think of it, a post office that serves a busy section of Manhattan. No AC. Only one line. They should have an ambulance for those who can't endure the wait in this heat.

Please tell me another movie evening is not coming to the Oval? I already saw the truck. Okay, mostly kids and their caretakers are there, as the caretakers have nothing to do, but this movie business is such a waste of money and resources. Rick continues the "good press".....

I agree 100% with the poster who said that the main problem is that they do not watch who they are renting to. Stop renting to this student, air bnb, and transient slime and things may change around here. I will also repeat what I have said several times, Hayduk is not the problem, he follows his bosses' rules. Any property manager would act in the same way. He is told what to do and not do.

"Hayduk is not the problem, he follows his bosses' rules. Any property manager would act in the same way. He is told what to do and not do."

Hayduk is the problem if he takes a job that makes him a faux manager. A real property manager would walk away in disgust if he were not allowed to do his job and do it well. Same goes for PS. They are told not to do the job. Maybe some of them like it that way because it means they can sit in their vehicles, stuff their faces and read their tablets. A conscientious person would not take the job if they were not allowed to do it. They would feel ashamed.

Most Ny/ers dont want to rent here, why would they there when other better apartments abound. Only a student wants Pc Stuy. The joke is when they move in (my niece) they see how bad it is and move out quickly.

Bikes that were zooming through this property last night, coming oh so close to hitting someone:

New Dragon Restaurant 11-BDominos (why does anyone in NYC order from here???)About 5-10 more that weren't clearly marked.

The day is going to come very soon, where management and PS turning a blind eye to all of this, is going to lead to someone getting hurt. I'd hate to think that is what it will take to get Rick & Co. to finally do something.

"Hayduk is not going to walk away. He needs a job just like the rest of us. Two kids, one special needs. You do the math.:

What was that thing about not mentioning family members? Not nice. Just mention Hayduk, if you must, but leave his family out of it. He is a private citizen. And even if he weren't, there's a line you don't cross.

>>What was that thing about not mentioning family members? Not nice.<<

But he does have a family? I leave several comments out, as they are not appropriate, but mentioning that Hayduk has a family, though it can be a close call, is not, I feel, inappropriate. We can have families and some of us do things to have money on the table for that family. Some of us have no families. Sometimes I make mistakes, but I don't think this time a mention, and nothing more, is serious.

For instance, some have a family and need to have that in their budget, their kids going to school, getting fed, etc. That person has more financial obligations than does someone who is "free" to do most of what he or she wants. In part, the people of this community have to make choices based upon their income and/or the income of their spouses.

yeah but this didn't happen in the 70s and early 80s, when the city was more like a prison yard. this is 2017, crime rates are way down, rape in stuy town seems to be way up.it's not public safety. it's not lighting. it's the fucking disgusting people who have moved here and changed the tenor of the community. and that includes students, transients, trust fund families running the place into the ground because they dont plan on staying--all of them.

I'm not sure if Anyone really realizes this but in order top fully stop any of these bikes... they need to fence the entire property. There is nothing that anyone can do, you can't touch a cyclist... sure you can tell the store " stop or you'll get a ticket" but they don't care since these riders do not carry ID.

Imagine if they try to stop you and you don't live here... give these mallcops the finger and move along. They can't do anything... which is unfortunate since their hands are tied.

Then we disagree on this point, unless you think it improper to mention that a person has family. That is part of life, whatever the particular circumstances. Guess what? Right now, I don't have a family staying with me. Take that into consideration if you want.

Unless you are offended by certain other things, which tell me more about you than I would want to know.

I did not say that. RH has been public that has he has a family here and he has daughters. Again, the particular MAKE-UP of one person* of that family which was posted here (not by you STR but approved by you as a post) is what I have an issue with. I don't want to repeat the details of that in my reply.

*If RH has mentioned that in the public record, then I stand corrected.

2:34Rick is the person behind the PSLL division for children with disabilities, to which it is on record of him talking about his daughter is a part of. I have a daughter who also played in the division, and Rick is not ashamed in the least bit that he has a daughter with special needs, nor is any parent with a special needs child.

Your comment is more insulting to a special needs parent, because you make it seem like we should be ashamed that we have special needs children. Rick is proud, as we all are, and we don't need the PC police to feel the need to interject whenever they feel.

TA not posting anything critical of management of late. I have a post pending for a week which I do not think they are going to put on the site. It shows mattresses strewn about the property(photos). Have noticed only very generic posts lately. Does this TA even exist anymore? They might as well call it Blackstone Tenants Association.

Once again, I have been driven out because of noisy work outside. Best place: In my apartment, it seems. Why is it that when I go outside I see and hear three leave-blowers? And why is it that the area of the sidewalk before Oval Study is closed off? Yeah, I know you have work to do, but unless I'm missing something, it never was as noisy as this. Of course, the TA is silent on this issue.

Susan and the TA SHOULD be fighting tooth and nail for everything going in here, but they pick and choose their battles. Usually the battles are not ones that go against management, like the homeless shelter on 17th. This way it makes them look relevant without going against Blackstone.

I think by now we all know the relationship between Blackstone-REBNY-Dan-PR firm-TA. The ties are too strong to continue to deny.

What bugs me the most is that the noise problems do not benefit us even in the long run. There are no improvements. The interior noise is from churning apartments by constant renovations and the exterior noise is for nothing. The grounds still look like crap.

Textbook definition of "Graft, as understood in American English, is a form of political corruption, being the unscrupulous use of a politician's authority for personal gain."

When the politician is the one who stands to make the most amount of money from a real estate development by evicting all the residents and developing the property into a hotel tower because his longtime girlfriend is on the Board of Directors of the property developer Brookfield and on the Board of Directors of the bank holding the Dalian Wanda hotel tower developers money Citi, Citigroup, Citibank,. (Thank you to earlier comment with 2015 photo of Brookfield executives with Developer Dalian Wanda.)

The Public has a right to know and certainly the Tenants who are effected have a right to know when a politician's significant other, in this case girlfriend, is on the Board of Directors of the Bank and the Developer.

How much will he and his girlfriend make on this hotel?How much will the Tenant Association Brookfield partnership make on this Dalian Wanda Peter Cooper Village Tower Hotel deal? Why didn't the Tenant Association recuse themselves from all MCI negotiations during the time they are partnered with developers Dalian Wanda Brookfield? Can the legality of Tenant Association MCI agreements with complicit DHCR be challenged?This is all too insulting to this community. They pushed this to an all or nothing place. Total ban. Total ban on the Tenant Association representing tenants at DHCR. Total Ban on ....Nothing less. No compromise.Total Ban.

At our beloved TA Facebook, there was a question about Playground 7 and the necessity for Key Cards. The answer from "Peter Stuyvesant":

>>The purpose of adding the key card system is to keep out anyone from outside, particularly since we are expecting an influx of tenants from the new construction on 14th Street.<<

While this is very nice, perhaps other questions can be asked: If everyone knows that outsiders are entering and using this community, what of "For Residents and Their Guests" mandated for any commercial establishment inside Stuy Town, like the cafe? What of outsiders bringing their dogs who freely, and without the payment of any dues, use the grounds to piss and shit (the dogs, that is...LOL), and what of the general use of this place by outsiders, which will get worse with the new condos on 14th St? I have seen many times an officer of Public Safety turn away and ignore some of the rules that are meant also for outsiders. What gives? And why is the TA not speaking up?

Most gyms have a few hundred to a few thousand members. Now imagine a fitness gym with 30,000 potential members, and their guests (entire NYU community?). Good luck getting a machine at any time during the day, not just peak hours. Will there be crowd regulation?

Are they planning to raise the fences around the park? If not, a security officer will be needed there EVERY NIGHT to prevent people from easily hopping over the fence to get in a workout.

How will the equipment handle the winters? Sure it looks nice, but I can only imagine the beating it will take after a few blizzards.

Has anyone walked by Venice Muscle Beach? Was it quiet? Although this is not weight training machines and free weights, large numbers of people working out is usually very loud. Good luck to the people facing playground 7. Don't expect your kids to sleep or be able to work from home with the noise the park will bring.

Overall this idea is one of the worst yet. It's great marketing though, and that's all that matters. Marketing and renting, not actual people. Great job Rick...

I was thinking about this "gym" the other day. It is only good for when the weather is good, and after a while it will look like crap, unless it is constantly fixed. But, yeah, it will be used to promote this place to newbies, for sure. Just watch. And I am fortunate I don't live next to it.

I have no idea why tents and speakers are being set up in the Oval. I assume we will be hearing noise later, which residents around the Oval are going to rightfully bitch about. But what gives? This is Saturday. Can the people here have one non-business day of peace? Or is it sell, sell, sell, promote, promote, promote?

Ask your LL for a buyout. According to my estimations, your flat even if a one bedroom worth 1 million in our market today. Take it and go. Ask your landlord, call Rick, talk to BS. Get the money and go.

Visited the new gym Playground 7. The playground is not done yet, but almost. Good to have workers slaving over this playground in the heat. Anyway, from the looks of it, the running track is an instant failure, though there should be someone who runs it. The track is much, much smaller than what is traditionally available around the Oval. It is also uncovered. No tree protection from the midday sun. As to the rest, it depends on the usage. I would hate to wait around if someone is using a facility I am interest in. And cover from the elements? None. Of course, the new gym faces the leasing office, which is probably intentional for those newbies who are too swarmed with info to think things through clearly.

Blogger Stuy Town Reporter said...There's a woman with a big dog, but no lanyard, and she is brushing the hair off the dog, and the dog is atop the Oval Stuy stone barrier. Thank you, Rick and PS!

July 22, 2017 at 11:47 AM

I walked past the Oval Stuy Café about noon and the woman with the big dog, no lanyard of course, took a massive sh*t near the chess tables. Not the woman, the dog...lol. She looked sereptitiously around, thought no one was looking, and scurried away.

" have no idea why tents and speakers are being set up in the Oval. I assume we will be hearing noise later, which residents around the Oval are going to rightfully bitch about. But what gives? This is Saturday. Can the people here have one non-business day of peace? Or is it sell, sell, sell, promote, promote, promote?"

Carnival day. From the SPS email blast:

"Summer Carnival This Weekend!This Saturday, July 22nd, 12-4pm on the Oval (lines cut off at 3:30pm)

Bring the kids out to the Oval and enjoy a variety of classic carnival games and rides, including a Ferris Wheel and much more. There will also be a magic show, balloon artists, face painters, and more! Be sure to bring your Resident ID, as this event is exclusively for residents and their guests. Find more great events at StuyTown.com/events."

Why must there ALWAYS be amplified music? I have no problem with a children’s oriented event but again, amplified music?

Another fake amenity. Their creativity in dreaming up these non-amenities never ceases to amaze me. Sitting in the oval grass listening to lousy music and watching mediocre films in the 90 degree heat, what great amenities. And now an outdoor gym exposed to the elements.

Blackstone is a law unto itself. It doesn't enforce its own "rules" and blatantly ignores the City laws. Unwrapped filthy mattresses litter the landscape, unrelated occupants are squashed into to cut up apartments and Five Turd Ecoli Cafe is more dog friendly than a kennel. Who is Blackstone paying off in DoB, FDNY, Healthy Department and the City Council to look the other way?

So, at the tenants TA Facebook, there was a statement by "Peter Stuyvesant" that the ST official website says nothing about how to properly dispose a mattress and not face the 100 fine. Now, why does the TA not mandate/ask management to place that information on its site? Small thing. But, so far.... no.

>>stupid advice.also the person who has simply stopped paying their rent--stupid advice. are you management?<<

It depends on how one is going to follow up. Withholding rent was used successfully in the past, but you have to get your documentation and be purposeful. Every individual is different and has different circumstances.

Again, the priority here seems to be the selling of apartments. Other things of Quality of Life can take the back seat or not even be dealt with. That has been my experience, and I think it has been the experience of a lot of tenants, particularly those who remember the way things were.

4:02 pm, it's too bad you didn't photograph or video the woman with the dog as she scurried away from the shit her dog just deposited. You could have sent it to useless Rick or posted it online (maybe here?) so long as her face was blurred.

I am embarrassed to have company come here anymore. At one time the grounds looked pristine and I was proud of where I lived. Now the community scape is filled with dirty mattresses, dog excrement, moving u-hauls, and populated by lowlifes.

"IT'S LIKE A MASS EXODUS AREOUND HERE LATELY. MORESO THAN EVER. WHERE IS EVERYONE GOING, EVEN OLDER NEIGHBORS ARE LEAVING."

Maybe to go live in a home instead of a filthy flop house? Maybe the "older" neighbors are finally realizing that even though they're paying half the rent of their neighbors they are still living in a filthy flop house? Maybe even all of the raw sewage strewn across the property has finally gotten to people, although I would tend to doubt that (at least as far as the dog owners are concerned, they seem to have an affinity for it).

Lots of possibilities as to your post. I still have to endure four more years in this project.

Dogs sniffing fruit and owners feeding them samples at the farmers market today. When I brought it to the attention of a PS officer he replied that they are not supposed to do it but they cannot enforce because the dog owners reply that they are residents and can do it. Disgusting and another example of Blackstone's blatant disregard for health, QOL, and rule enforcement here.

Depreciating quality of life and health hazards from the cafe to the used mattresses all over.

At this point there is no doubt the Mayor wants us out so he can develop the property into luxury condos and hotels so that means our quality of life is deliberately deteriorating by design of the Mayor et al deal. He operates in a bubble absent of truthfulness especially to the Lower East Side, West and East Village, and Stuyvesant Town Peter Cooper Village.

Now he is being sued for his untruthfulness and cold-heart ruthlessness. If he genuinely cared about his mental health initiative he would not be closing Rivington health facility for luxury condos or going to a boondoggle in Germany instead of dealing with the mental health patient who shot the NYPD Officer.

"Morales, then DCAS' deputy commissioner for asset management, was also involved in the waiver of a deed restriction that allowed a nursing home owner to sell a Lower East Side building to a luxury condo developer.

In his notice of claim, Morales says his firing was also because he “objected to City Hall's lack of truthfulness regarding the lifting of deed restrictions” on the lot and unspecified violations of city charter rules."

I think the projects are probably better-run than this dump. I have friends who live in NYCHA housing and I've never seen filthy mattresses all over the place and I don't ever see mounds of dog shit there. Blackstone is running this place as a flophouse and that is for sure. We never hear a word from Garodnick now. He doesn't even pretend to care!

With the income potential for the combined apartments, I actually wouldn't be surprised if Blackstone is considering buyouts in situations where a rent stabilized tenant lived next to a vacant apartment that they would make a ton of money off of if it were to be converted.

Buyouts are certainly not unheard of in the city these days, and we all know that Blackstone has the money to put towards buyouts. They would make the money back tenfold after a few years.

Does anyone have any idea regarding what's going on as far as the loss of parking spots on 14th street is concerned? I'm forced to have a car for at least 3 more years and cannot afford the garage. The street parking situation just goes from bad to worse. Does anyone have any idea how long these spots will be lost for? I received nothing from Blackstone regarding the matter.

Yes, Garodnick has disappeared from the map after he helped to coordinate this miserable Blackstone deal. As has the TA. No meetings anymore. I do not think that it even exists as a separate entity anymore. This place is a disgusting flophouse.

buyouts are certainly not unheard of in the city these days, and we all know that Blackstone has the money to put towards buyouts. They would make the money back tenfold after a few years.

July 23, 2017 at 4:02 PM

sorry but this is just naive. they're not gonna pursue buyouts. there's too many people to buy out. this isn't the way real estate works in nyc.dogs sniffing fruit happens in grocery stores too. it's disgusting. there should be a no dog area around the flea market--sorry, farmer's market

I've lived in Stuytown for 20 yrs now. Management allowing dogs here has made me hate dogs. However, I did see a security officer tell this woman in a fenced off grass area that she wasn't allowed in there with her dog. As she was moving off the grass she said " but I live here". Okay. If you live here then you should know very well what the rules of being a tenant here are. How stupid and how stupid of management to rent to stupid entitled people. Thanks a lot stupid management.

The city councilman who made that very bad deal that screwed over this community for his private law firm partner and developer partnership is also making a mess of public spaces and that has very big implications on the Constitutional Rights of the citizenry when politicians are giving away public spaces to private corporations. Gathering and protest spaces are being given to their private developer partner buddies. We are never voting for him for any public service office because he helps himself and his little buddies to public assets. Here is what he is doing in NYC, same that is happening everywhere with corrupt politicians helping their little buddies hoard public assets.

The corruption in New York City is at historic high levels. Anyone catch this latest reveal on Tammany Hall? No surprise the infamous hotel lobbyist and his family are prominent in this. This Mayor's transition committee, inauguration committee, (failed) DNC committee and the dubious Mayors Fund to Advance New York City are a veritable road map to corrupt operations.

Dogs sitting on wall by the PigStuy Town eColi Café yesterday on numerous occasions throughout the day.Dogs sitting in the outdoor tables area and ON tables as well.In fact, one woman tried to bring her pooch into the actual "cafe".The staff said nothing.Another patron did say something.Woman with dog replied, "Mind your own fu*kin' business."Classy, huh?

If I had been in the cafe when the woman made that remark, I would have made it very obvious that I was calling the Health Dept. to report the matter and would have taken a photograph. Any further action or verbiage on her part would have resulted in my calling 911.

9:44Your comments are naive. I work for a company that assists management companies with buyouts (lending the money), so don't tell me that it's not happening across the city. Just because it hasn't happened here yet doesn't mean it's not happening. It's happening a lot.

Developers are borrowing money at record rates to buyout buildings that are in their way, and owners/managers are borrowing money at increased rates to get rid of tenants that are paying below market rate.

Would it be hard based on the large number of RS tenants that they would have to potentially buyout? Absolutely! But if there is anyone with the money to do it, its Blackstone. From my knowledge it would be over a few years, but Blackstone could do it without blinking an eye.

Speaking of the devil (ah, just an expression), I saw three guys with very wide umbrellas walk through the complex. Though they had no suits (too much rain?), they seemed to love going through the property and figuring out ways to make more money.

Actually there are not that many primary leases to buyout. Majority of tenants have been wrongfully maybe even illegally pushed out. Thousands of leases are bulk leased to corporations, liquor companies, bottler distributors, casinos, food & beverage companies, universities and hospitals who are invested with the developers to build the hotel / condos. A very small amount of primary tenant leases are part of the Dalian Wanda development Brookfield Blackstone de Blasio Partnership and de Blasio put thousands of leases in a NYCHA type arrangement the City is paying for. Their goal is to minimize or eliminate any tenants in buyout position with the help of City Hall and City Council to keep the costs to the wealthy developers down because the last thing the Mayor wants is to have an extraordinary, wealthy developer lose even a single penny especially on an "ordinary" citizen.

Until There Is Silence No More

The Tenants Association and our then councilman Dan Garodnick have mysteriously remained silent about a purported incident that occurred on July 12, 2017: the mugging by a group of individuals of someone right by Peter Cooper Village, along 20th Street.

I write this on May 3, 2018: Since this year, there have been three suicides in ST/PCV. Aside from silence by almost everyone, there occurred a suicide where sulfuric acid was used and the city had to be called in, including the Fire Dept. As of now, there has been a general state of silence about this suicide, even though other resident lives were at danger. Yes, our councilperson is silent. The TA is silent. Obviously, Management is silent, too.

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"We'll be introducing a new process to identify registered dogs thus enabling Public Safety Officers to clearly approach offending dog owners. The registration will hang from the leash handle; clearly identifying the dog as registered.

"If the dog is not registered by May 1; a summons will be issued at the point of contact. If we learn the dog owner is not a resident, they will be escorted off the property."

Rick Hayduk, CEO and General Manager of PCVST. Letter to Barry Shapiro, February 2016.

STR here: I have been around since the inception of this dog policy and I have NEVER seen anyone escorted out of ST or PCV with their non-lanyard dog. But I have seen, many times, a dog owner from outside, and his/her dog, casually walking through ST or PCV.

THINKING of Renting in PCVST?

Read Yelp reviews to find out what it's like living here. Please note: All apartments are currently "rent-stabilized" but that doesn't prevent apartments from going up to 4K to 6K a month and even higher. How does this happen? Ask our politicians! Fact: Now less than half of the complex's apartments have the old rents and it's getting worse year by year--or better if you are the Real Estate Board of New York!

The Other Yelp Reviews

Yelp can be tricky and bounce reviews for a variety of reasons, like being a member and posting just one review. Very often, however, these reviews hold important truths about what's being reviewed. READ THESE TOO.

BICYCLES, MOPEDS, SCOOTERS, ETC.

Of course, "private property" but "public access" - whatever that means! And if a part of it is public access, do the rules of the city apply to our roads and sidewalks? Or does anything give because this complex is "private property"? Who comes here in case of a fire in one of our buildings? The Stuy Town Fire Brigade?

Hint: Look both ways if you are in the complex. Look on the ground, too!

61.03 Control of dogs and other animals to prevent nuisance. (a) A person who owns, possesses or controls a dog, cat or other animal shall not permit the animal to commit a nuisance on a sidewalk of any public place, on a floor, wall, stairway, sidewalk, lawn, garden or roof of any public or private premises used in common by the public, or on a fence, wall [or], stairway or entranceway of a building abutting on a public place

Banned & Oversize Dog Breeds in Stuy Town

Looks like there is some difficulty in enforcing the ban on certain dog breeds allowed inside Stuy Town/Peter Cooper Village. Somehow pitbulls and pitbull mixes have been registered in STPCV and are allowed to be freely walked about the grounds! Registered dogs in the complex are max 50 pounds. Total, if there is more than one! More than two, it's illegal. It's going to get worse, and, face it, Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village will never be like it once was.

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Current Value of ST/PCV

Was 5.4 Billion Dollars when Tishman Speyer bought the place.Became 1.7 Billion Dollars when Tishman Speyer left, with their tail between their legs. Of course, tenants now have to make up the loss.

Ex-landlord

Rob Speyer

1947 Stuy Town Plaque Honoring Met Life Chairman F.H. Ecker (Removed in 2002 and never seen again)

"... who with the vision of experience and the energy of youth conceived and brought into being this project, and others like it, that families of moderate means might live in health, comfort and dignity in park-like communities and that a pattern might be set of private enterprise productively devoted to public service."

I am writing on behalf of everyone at Tishman Speyer to express how honored we are to become part of your outstanding community. We are a business with deep roots in New York, a true love of our city and a great respect for the neighborhoods that make it special. We are committed to maintaining the unique character and environment that have made Peter Cooper Village and Stuyvesant Town such a wonderful place to live for so long. We look forward to providing you an extraordinary level of service and attentiveness that will be the source of pride and satisfaction for the entire community.

Neighborhood Recommendations

New to Stuy Town/Peter Cooper Village? Here are some basic recommendations.

Best supermarket: Associated on 14th St. between 1st Ave. and Ave A. The cheapest prices, fantastic weekly sales, very affordable lunches; solid, responsive management, but earthy. Some of the young female cashiers have attitude to spare, though. May be too far for Peter Cooper residents.

Best gym: Don't waste your money on the Oval Fitness Gym. Instead go to the earthy but real Asser Levy Recreational Center, right above 23rd St on Asser Levy Place (near the FDR Drive). $75 for a year's membership; seniors are almost free. Contains seasonal indoor and outdoor swimming pools, ping-pong table, two pool tables. Called by some rich people who wouldn't get caught going there "the prison gym," and you know why.

A Stuy Town favorite is Lenz's on 20 St. between the 20 St. Loop. The way New York used to be. Be careful of unwanted "pepper" in your food, however. Lenz's got a B grade rating and was temporarily closed down due to an order from the Health Department. Bruno's on First Avenue is more upscale, with a greater selection of food items (higher-priced, too), but was closed down temporarily by the Health Department. Stuy Town's own cafe was closed, too! And not because of all the dogs that hover and piss outside.

Gracefully has two locations, but we prefer for its size the one on 1st Ave. Prices are high and reflect the new tenants that are currently renting Stuy Town and Peter Cooper apartments. ("Do you have a credit card?") We like Gracefully's lunch specials, which are somewhat affordable.

I priced the CVS on 1st Ave near 14st. The non-aerosol hairspray was 20 cents above CVS' own website price, and one of the highest in NY. (Yes, I have hair.) You can save at least a dollar or more buying at another place. So beware. Look around for a better deal on all your items.

I love warm Quaker Oats in the morning. Gristedes is not the place to get it, nor is Associated, though their price is less. Look around!

Macular Degeneration Support Group

If you are currently diagnosed with Macular Degeneration, the New York Eye & Ear Infirmary is offering a support group for you. Conveniently located next to the Peter Cooper Village Stuyvesant Town apartment complex, our group offers the opportunity to share stories with other members, listen to expert guest speakers, and learn coping strategies to reduce stress. Our group runs on the first Wednesday of every month and we would enjoy seeing you there.
Please contact Baptiste Nicolas, Social Work Assistant at 212-979-4105 for further information and to see if this group is right for you!